Utica Comets reveal 2018-19 schedule

Ben Birnell

Thursday

Jul 12, 2018 at 1:25 PMJul 12, 2018 at 1:25 PM

UTICA — The Utica Comets have released their full 2018-19 regular-season schedule.

The Comets open their sixth American Hockey League season with three consecutive home games against the defending Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies on Friday, Oct. 5, the Belleville Senators on Saturday, Oct. 6, and the Atlantic Division's Charlotte Checkers on Friday, Oct. 12. Each game is set for 7 p.m.

Six of Utica's first 10 games will be played in the Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium, and three of those first 10 games are against the Marlies.

For the second time in three years, the Comets will end their regular season against North Division rival Syracuse. That game is set for Sunday, April 14, in Utica. It is the fourth time in six years the Comets will end the regular season on home ice.

Individual game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium Box Office and at noon the same day at empirestatetix.com. A promotional schedule is set to be released this summer, according to the team.

Here are a few other things to know about the Comets’ 76-game schedule:

• The AHL’s schedule is dominated by weekend games and Utica’s schedule is no different. The Comets’ 38 home games will be played on two Sundays, 10 Wednesdays, a Thursday, 17 Fridays and eight Saturdays. All home games start at 7 p.m., except the pair of Sunday games on Feb. 17 and April 14, which face off at 5 p.m.

• The Comets have sold out 116 consecutive regular-season games at Utica's downtown arena. The team could match the AHL’s record of 120 consecutive sellouts on Wednesday, Oct. 17, when the Comets host North Division foe Rochester. The Comets’ following home game is Friday, Oct. 19, against new North Division team Cleveland, which visits Utica for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

• Utica plays each of the other 15 teams in the Eastern Conference’s North and Atlantic divisions at least twice. As previously reported, the Comets’ most frequent opponent is rival Syracuse as the teams meet 12 times (six home, six road) during the regular season. Utica plays Rochester 10 times. Among other North teams, Utica meets Laval and Binghamton eight times, has six each against Toronto and Belleville, and four against Cleveland.

• Utica will play its 400th regular-season game on Friday, Nov. 23, in Rochester.

• The Comets’ busiest months are November, December and March — they play 13 games in each one of them.

• Utica plays five stretches of three games in three days, with one each in October, December and February and two in April. The team had five similar stretches during the 2017-18 season. Utica has 10 stretches in which they play three games in four days this season.

• Utica’s longest homestand is five games, which stretches nine days from Friday, Jan. 11, to Saturday, Jan. 19. The games, combined with the All-Star break, helps create a three-week stretch in which the Comets don't have a game scheduled outside New York state.

• The Comets’ longest stretch of road games is four from Wednesday, Nov. 28, to Wednesday, Dec. 5. Two of the games — against Laval and Belleville — will be played outside of New York state.

Utica Comets

2018-19 Schedule

October

Oct. 5: Toronto, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6: Belleville, 7

Oct. 12: Charlotte, 7

Oct. 13: at Toronto, 4

Oct. 14: at Toronto, 4

Oct. 17: Rochester, 7

Oct. 19: Cleveland, 7

Oct. 20: at Syracuse, 7

Oct. 24: Charlotte, 6

Oct. 26: at Rochester, 7:05

November

Nov. 2: at Laval, 7:30

Nov. 3: at Laval, 3

Nov. 7: Laval, 7

Nov. 9: Hartford, 7

Nov. 10: at Binghamton, 7:05

Nov. 14: at Belleville, 7

Nov. 16: Syracuse, 7

Nov. 17: at Hartford, 7

Nov. 21: Laval, 7

Nov. 23: at Rochester, 7:05

Nov. 24: Belleville, 7

Nov. 28: at Binghamton, 7:05

Nov. 30: at Belleville, 7

December

Dec. 1: at Laval, 3

Dec. 5: at Rochester, 7

Dec. 7: Springfield, 7

Dec. 8: at Binghamton, 7:05

Dec. 12: Providence, 7

Dec. 14: Binghamton, 7

Dec. 16: at Charlotte, 1

Dec. 18: at Charlotte, 7

Dec. 21: at Springfield, 7:05

Dec. 22: Binghamton, 7

Dec. 27: Binghamton, 7

Dec. 28: at Syracuse, 7

Dec. 29: Rochester, 7

January

Jan. 2: Syracuse, 7

Jan. 5: at Cleveland, 1

Jan. 6: at Cleveland, 3

Jan. 9: at Toronto, 7

Jan. 11: Bridgeport, 7

Jan. 12: Syracuse, 7

Jan. 16: Syracuse 7

Jan. 18: Binghamton, 7

Jan. 19: Belleville, 7

Jan. 25: at Rochester, 7:05

February

Feb. 1: at Syracuse, 7

Feb. 2: at Springfield, 7:05

Feb. 8: Lehigh Valley, 7

Feb. 9: Rochester, 7

Feb. 10: at Bridgeport, 3

Feb. 13: Laval, 7

Feb. 16: at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05

Feb. 17: Cleveland, 5

Feb. 22: Rochester, 7

Feb. 23: at Binghamton, 7:05

Feb. 27: Rochester, 7

March

March 1: Hershey, 7

March 2: at Lehigh Valley, 7:05

March 6: Syracuse, 7

March 8: at Syracuse, 7

March 9: at Laval, 7

March 13: at Rochester, 7:05

March 15: Springfield, 7

March 16: Hartford, 7

March 20: at Belleville, 7

March 22: Laval, 7

March 23: at Syracuse, 7

March 29: Toronto, 7

March 30: at Syracuse, 7

April

April 5: Toronto, 7

April 6: at Hartford, 7

April 7: at Providence, 3:05

April 12: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7

April 13: at Hershey, 7

April 14: Syracuse, 5

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